


It Takes A Team

by StarryFeathers



Series: Cosmic Dust [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Gen, cosmic dust, no ships here, part two of cosmic dust series, platonic, pre season 3 during season 2
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-12
Updated: 2017-10-03
Packaged: 2018-12-26 20:16:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12066210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarryFeathers/pseuds/StarryFeathers
Summary: Someone once said that it takes a village to raise a child. That not one person is fully responsible for any one individual. Another person once said that children grow up in the rages of war; that childhood is lost to it. It's easy to forget how young they each are, to forget what burdens they bare, and yet they aren't alone in this fight. They're a team and sometimes they have to be reminded to lean on each other.Part Two of Cosmic Dust Series; first chapter is a direct sequel to Part One of the series.





	1. Parasomnia

**Author's Note:**

> "The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life." -Richard Bach

Nightmares were fairly common for the members of the team.

Shiro’s nightmares were well known. After waking most of them more than once in their first week Shiro had moved rooms to be further down the hallway and had requested Coran’s help with sound dampening to keep the sound of his screams and shouts quiet. There had been an argument of course, no one wanted Shiro dealing with his nightmares alone. But after Lance had snuck in one night to try and comfort Shiro only to be injured they had all agreed to let Shiro be at night. No matter how much each of them hated it. Even Lance who hadn’t blamed Shiro for the broken wrist. But Shiro’s quiet horror at the injury had drove home that they needed to respect Shiro’s boundaries.

Hunk was another case, his more gentle nature and preference for not causing harm unless absolutely necessary meant that he often woke up crying after the more intense battles. Lance had woken screaming at least a handful of times after near crashes or after seeing his teammates severely wounded. It wasn’t uncommon to find Hunk and Lance curled up together after a particularly bad night of nightmares. Keith had nightmares as well but he never spoke about them and the team kept a respectful distance. Shiro was the one to often pull Keith aside to talk or attempt to talk.  Pidge had them of course, usually of finding her family but too late, but sometimes it was nightmares of her team mates. That was what brought her to Shiro’s bedroom door this night, hand hovering over the entry keypad, and tears rolling down her cheeks as she pressed the other hand to her mouth to muffle sobs.

“Pidge?” Keith asked softly, wincing as she jumped and spun to face him.

“Keith,” Pidge mumbled, “I-I just-”

“Wanted to make sure he was there?” Keith asked softly, “I do it too it’s okay.”

“I’m sorry,” Pidge mumbled, scrubbing a hand over her face as she turned towards her room, “I just had a nightmare and just wanted to see if he was-”.

“For what?” Keith asked, eyebrows jumping up in surprise even as he grabbed at her shoulder.

“It’s my fault,” Pidge replied, “It’s my fault you almost lost your uncle.”

Keith frowned and then slowly shook his head.

“I check on him every night Pidge even before what happened last week,” Keith stated then gently tugged on her shoulder as if trying to get her turn around.

Pidge wrapped her arms around herself and stood still until Keith sighed and while muttering he pulled her into a hug. Pidge started crying again.

“I’m sorry,” Pidge mumbled through her tears.

“ _I’m sorry_ ,” Keith shot back as he put his chin on her head and sighed.

“Why-?” Pidge started to ask.

“Shiro was the pilot who took your brother and father to Kerberos-” Keith started, voice hard with frustration.

“Shiro was a pilot doing a space exploration mission!” Pidge snapped, “They got abducted by aliens! It’s not like he handed them over to aliens!”

“You wanted to find your dad and brother, we thought we got lucky and that base was empty or abandoned, it’s not like you knew there were bombs,” Keith replied sharply.

“B-but if I hadn’t kept insisting…” Pidge started.

“If I had talked to Shiro and apologized to him for the shit I said before he left maybe he wouldn’t feel so guilty all the damn time,” Keith sighed, pulling Pidge into his lap while continuing to hug her as they sat down, “If I hadn’t compared him to his brother…Pidge there’s a thousand things that could have been done differently between all the shit that’s happened. It doesn’t change what happened and I don’t blame you for wanting to find your family so stop beating yourself up.”

Pidge hugged his arms and leaned against him. Keith leaned back against Shiro’s door while keeping a firm hold on the younger paladin. She seemed to struggle for a minute but then relaxed.

“You don’t hate me?” Pidge mumbled, “You nearly lost your only remaining family because of me.”

“You don’t hate me?” Keith parroted back, “You’re family ended up abducted by aliens because I’m related to Shiro.”

“You’re an asshole,” Pidge mumbled, rubbing tears from her eyes.

Keith laughed, it sounded bitter and tired, but it was a laugh.

“I have my own issues,” he sighed, head tipping back and resting on the door.

“Why were you up?” Pidge asked after a moment, “Also you give surprisingly good hugs.”

“Why is that surprising?” Keith asked dryly but this time his voice was full of humor.

“You’re like the angsty emo of the team who looks like he’ll stab everyone,” Pidge said with a shrug.

There was a pause and then a loud bark of laughter followed by Pidge jumping. Pidge smiled a little and started laughing too after a moment they continued to hug. Keith snorted and Pidge grinned before they both returned to being silent. It stretched on for a while but as Pidge began to fidget Keith finally spoke.

“I had a nightmare too,” Keith replied softly, “Every time I close my eyes I…I see him on that command console. I can’t forget it. _I don’t blame you_ for what happened so don’t start that up again but it scared the hell out of me. That or…sometimes I have nightmares about things he’s mentioned…he’s never really told me about what happened while he was a prisoner but I’ve sort of put together a few pieces based on his nightmares. I sit out here when I can’t sleep…he dreams about losing his arm a lot.”

Keith grew silent his arms tightening for a moment around Pidge’s shoulders. Pidge squeezed him back best she could.

“I…I have nightmares about losing you guys,” Pidge whispered after a moment, “or finding out that my dad and brother died right before we got to them. Sometimes I really worry about my mom…I wonder if she’s okay…”

They both lapsed into silence and Keith rested his chin on her head again. Pidge tensed for a moment and then relaxed. She smiled a little as if finding humor in the way Keith had relaxed.

“It’s going to be okay,” he said after a moment.

“You don’t know that,” Pidge mumbled, “there are a thousand factors to how this war could end…we could all die before ever getting back to Earth-”

“It’s going to be okay,” Keith repeated a bit more firmly, “We take each day at a time and we focus on keeping each other safe. We can’t predict the future but we focus on what we can do each day. You watch my back and I’ll watch yours? I’ll make sure we find your family Pidge. I swear it.”

“Okay and I’ll help you keep Shiro safe,” Pidge replied softly, “Although he’d probably find it funny that we’re trying to protect him after him being a gladiator and all.”

Keith chuckled but didn’t move.

“Why do you put your chin on my head?” Pidge asked after a minute.

Keith tensed and started to pull away but Pidge dug her nails into his arms slightly to prevent him from letting go.

“I-I guess Shiro used to do it when I’d have my screaming and crying fights with him. He’d grab a hold of me, pin me in a hug, and put his chin on my head until I stopped crying,” Keith answered, “I guess I just came to associate it with comfort? He’d sing too but I can’t stay in tune so I didn’t even bother trying.”

“Shiro can sing?” Pidge asked curiously even as she snuggled back into the hug allowing Keith to hesitantly put his chin back on her head.

“Oh…yeah, mostly in Japanese though. Stuff his mom would sing to him I think? I never really learned the language,” Keith replied, “I didn’t really try to learn though.”

“Shiro would probably teach you if you asked,” Pidge suggested.

“Probably,” Keith replied then with a sigh he added, “we should probably try to go back to sleep. We have training in a few hours.”

Pidge shook her head sharply and Keith moved back to avoid getting whiplash from his chin moving with her head.

“I don’t want more nightmares,” she whispered, “plus I don’t think I’ll be able to fall asleep again.”

“I don’t think I can either,” Keith admitted.

They sat in silence for a while until Keith frowned began to hum softly. Pidge started to ask something but when Keith shook his head Pidge simply sat still. Slowly, Pidge relaxed, her head tipping forward as her eyes fluttering closed but Keith continued humming. After a while Keith relaxed, eyes closing, and slumped as his humming stopped. It wasn’t long before they ended up curled up still hugging each other in a sleepy pile in front of Shiro’s door. That was how Shiro found them two hours later as he opened his door for the morning. For a moment he paused, startled, and then smiled softly.

“Now I’ve got two of you sleeping out here?” Shiro sighed as he knelt down, gently trying to untangle the sleeping pair from each other.

Keith grumbled, arms tightening around Pidge who whimpered and snuggled closer. Shiro paused and sighed while shaking his head. He reached out and pushed Keith’s hair out of his face then gently tapped on the teen’s shoulder. Then Shiro glanced at Pidge who had rolled over to bury her head in Keith’s chest with her arms around his chest at some point. Keith had responded by protectively curling around the smaller girl. Shiro’s mouth quirked upward in the hint of a smile again then he gently tapped on Keith’s shoulder again.

“Keith,” Shiro whispered, “hey, wake up kiddo. You’ve got quite the hold on Pidge there.”

Keith frowned in his sleep but slowly stirred awake, his eyes opening slowly as confusion flashed across his face.

“S’iro?” Keith mumbled as he turned his head to see Shiro squatting above him.

Pidge whimpered in her sleep and Keith reflexively tightened his grip around the small girl. Shiro shushed Pidge and ran a finger against her arm in soothing motions. Shiro continued to stroke Keith’s bangs out of his face as well.

“Keith? Can I take Pidge to her room?” Shiro asked softly.

Keith shook his head slowly, eyes squeezing back shut as he shifted slightly to allow Pidge to hold onto him better.

“It’s okay,” Keith mumbled, obviously still not fully awake, “P’tect from bad dreams.”

“You’re protecting her from the bad dreams?” Shiro asked gently.

“S’e p’tectin’ me too,” Keith mumbled, blinking now as he slowly woke up, “we had a deal.”

Shiro smiled sadly.

“Well can I at least move you both somewhere more comfortable?” Shiro questioned softly.

“I can carry her,” Keith mumbled.

“Just hold onto her and I’ll move you both,” Shiro replied before leaning forward and gently scooping the still half asleep teen into his arms.

Shiro grunted softly, adjusted his balance, and then made sure Pidge was positioned so that as he scooped up Keith she would be brought along. Keith hummed in reply and held onto Pidge even as Shiro gently placed them both onto his bed. Shiro sighed, gently pulled blankets over the pair, and then turned the lights off as he left the room.

“Get some rest,” Shiro whispered as he glanced back once more before leaving.


	2. Fatigue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coran and Shiro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Rest when you're weary. Refresh and renew yourself, your body, your mind, your spirit. Then get back to work." -Ralph Marston

Shiro had never been good at sleeping even before the Kerberos mission and the resulting abduction by the Galra had only made that worse. But now, after his time as a Galra prisoner it was rare, if he slept at all, that it was restful.  Nightmares, flashbacks, panic attacks, and more often than not hours laying in his bed at the castle with a pillow over his face to muffle the screams from what little memories he had meant Shiro rarely actually slept. Then of course two weeks ago the near brush with death and the whole new genre of nightmares it brought where he kept envisioning the paladins dead due to his mistake meant Shiro had barely gotten more than an hour of sleep each night since. They had gone from one nerve wracking week where confessions, mainly on Keith’s part, and discussions needed to be addressed to another battle intensive week. Now finally, they’d managed to carve out what appeared to be a few hours of much needed respite. Allura had moved the castle to a calmer area of space for a much needed break. All of the other paladins had stumbled off to their bunks for some hard earned rest.

Shiro had not.

Shiro was standing and staring blankly at the Altean equivalent of glass windows on the observation deck. He was still wearing his paladin armor but his entire posture declared complete exhaustion. Shoulders slumped, back hunched, and chin dipping towards his chest. Coran observed this and sighed before approaching. He didn’t speak he just stood beside Shiro until the younger man turned to look at him. Coran resisted a flinch, the dark circles under Shiro’s eyes were beginning to look like more like bruises. Shiro’s shoulders snapped up to their usual squared position, his chin raised, and his back straightened. All traces of exhaustion, aside from the dark circles under Shiro’s eyes, disappeared instantly.

Military discipline.

Oh Coran knew that well. Coran would have been more impressed if it didn’t break his heart.

“Coran?” Shiro asked softly, “Everything okay?”

“Hmm, no,” Coran mused as he fiddled with his mustache, “But I think you may be able to help me.”

A flicker of emotion that Coran couldn’t quite read flashed across Shiro’s face and then his features returned to their usual calm. Shiro nodded, looking determined, but his shoulders dropped marginally.

“Of course,” Shiro offered, “anything. Do I need to be in armor? Or should I go change? I got lost in thought when we got back.”

Coran paused before replying and seemed to struggle a moment before deciding to go along with Shiro’s blatant lie. Coran folded his arms behind his back and turned with a light step while humming to hide his frustrated but sad expression from the black paladin. He waved for Shiro to follow before replying.

“I would advise changing out of the armor but it’s not required. But follow me!” Coran chirped cheerily despite the slight frown he still wore.

Shiro sighed but nodded before following. Nothing in his gait or movements gave away the exhaustion lingering under the surface. Coran chose to keep a slower pace than normal anyway. They were in no rush after all. Not if this plan was to work. Shiro trailed behind Coran as the man moved on ahead and quietly berated himself for not making an escape to his room when he had the chance. At least he’d have been able to _attempt_ to sleep there with the high chance no one would bother him. But Coran did a lot of work around the castle and despite Shiro’s own nightly wanderings he rarely saw the adviser performing his duties. It wouldn’t be the first time Shiro had offered to help with some repair work but currently Shiro wasn’t really feeling up to it.

 _“When does Coran actually sleep,”_ Shiro thought tiredly as he turned to continue after Coran down a side hallway.

It took longer than it should have for Shiro to recognize that they weren’t in an area of the castle that was familiar but Shiro was stumbling now when he stopped focusing and focus was needed to keep up with Coran as well as Coran’s chatter. Coran had been talking about some historical event on Altea this entire time but Shiro hadn’t actually managed to grasp what precisely the subject was; he was too tired.

“Coran,” Shiro asked, voice gruff from exhaustion.

“Just here,” Coran soothed while stopping to type a key entry on a data pad to one of the rooms in the hallway.

Shiro stopped beside the red-haired Altean and planted his feet as his body swayed slightly. As the door opened Coran stepped aside and gestured for Shiro to enter. Shiro stepped into the room and managed a confused noise at what he saw. The room was large and spacious with what looked like some sort of tile on the floor. Two inner doors stood at the end of a short hall. Along the walls were dark screens and below them benches with places to put shoes underneath. Small closets on either side slid out of the wall as Coran tapped out a command on his data pad.

“Grab a cleaning bucket and follow me,” Coran stated as he stepped into the room and placed a hand on the door of one of the small closets, “You’ll want to remove the armor pieces but the under-suit should be fine.”

“Coran what is this?” Shiro as softly, looking more than just a little confused.

Coran stepped off to the side with the removed cleaning supplies and reached out to gather up something else, it looked like a towel, but Shiro’s exhaustion was making it difficult to focus. Shiro opted to look around the room.

“Coran?” Shiro asked while looking around, “what is this place?”

“I’ll explain in a minute,” Coran chuckled, as he reached around trying to find something.

As Coran straightened up he brushed against another panel on the wall. He didn’t seem to notice as he tried to pick up all of the cleaning supplies at once. But beside him and on the wall that Shiro was facing the screens lit up revealing images of Alteans. Men, women, young, old, and all in some sort of uniform. Shiro blinked, tiredness forgotten for a moment and grinned when he spotted a particular red-haired young man with a rather flamboyant hairstyle.

“Coran,” Shiro chuckled, “is that you with the disconnected undercut? Your hair looks longer than Allura’s here.”

Coran straightened and turned starting to laugh as he noticed the images on the screen then froze when he saw the one Shiro was looking at. The cleaning supplies hit the floor seconds later and Coran let out what could only be described as a strangled sob. Shiro turned quickly at the sound and saw the look on Coran’s face but before he could ask Coran shook his head and answered.

“That…that isn’t me,” Coran murmured, hastily pressing a hand to his face and pinching the bridge of his nose.

Shiro looked at the young man in the image and then back at Coran. Realization hit like a train and Shiro felt a wave of sympathetic sorrow. Even so Shiro asked the question as gently as he could manage.

“The eyes…are…different…Coran…did you have-” Shiro started to ask.

“My son,” Coran said stiffly, turning and slapping the panel that he had previously bumped into causing all of the images to vanish, “We best get to cleaning. This officer’s springs won’t clean themselves. Then we can relax. Huh? Sounds like a plan.”

The cheer was false and they both knew it but Shiro didn’t push, instead despite his weariness he moved to help gather up the supplies. As tired as he was Shiro was now just as curious and perhaps a great deal more concerned. Coran looked shaken as if he hadn’t been expecting to see the images on the walls.

“So you said officer’s springs?” Shiro prompted, avoiding the fact that Coran’s gaze kept sliding over to the far wall where the image of his son had been.

“Yes, these, pools I suppose would be a better term, we set aside for the high ranking officers of the royal guard,” Coran replied, more false cheer colored his voice and he hesitated before adding, “I’d forgotten about the images.”

“I’m sorry,” Shiro whispered and Coran nodded before pushing into the empty room beyond the second set of doors.

It turned out to be fairly easy to clean, Coran had been apparently cleaning for weeks but had entered through a back entrance which was devoid of the officer’s images. It still took well over three vargas to finish up the last of it and by that point Shiro was slumped over on one of the seats within the lower basin of the room as Coran chattered on about some festival while tapping out something on a control panel.

“Best hop out for a bit,” Coran chirped, “water is quite hot when it first rolls into the basins.”

Shiro climbed out and sat tiredly on the floor with a grunt watching as the water rolled into the basins. Steam rose around them and with it the smell of something soothing. Shiro inhaled slowly trying to place the scent but failing. It obviously wasn’t from Earth, but it had hints of scents that were familiar. Shiro leaned back on his elbows and stretched a foot cautiously towards the steaming water below him. Testing the temperature with a toe he sighed and eased both of his feet in. He’d kicked off his boots two vargas ago and stripped the upper part of his body suit down to free up his arms when they had been cleaning. Shiro hummed softly as he slowly swung his feet in the water. It was hot but not unpleasantly so and it was helping him relax. _Maybe the extra physical activity and a quick swim will help me sleep tonight._

“Sorry, I didn’t think it would take as long,” Coran said from where he stood, “I hadn’t gotten to that far basin as yet. But I figured you might want a place to relax where the younger paladins wouldn’t be around…peace and quiet and all that.”

“You said this was for the officers of the royal guard?” Shiro asked curiously while watching the basins finish filling with water.

There were three of varying depths, one deep enough to dive, one at a comfortable shoulder height, and one that looked reserved for sitting in only. Shiro was tiredly eyeing the one with the sloped seating in the center. The height of the water stopped at a depth that would allow someone to sit and lean back without fear of submersion.

“Yes, this was the officers’ private area. A lot of diplomatic talk and more than the fair share of courtly gossip happened in this room years ago,” Coran chuckled but the sorrow still hinted at the edges of his voice.

Shiro turned his head slightly and looked at Coran who was still standing by the far wall with the data pad in hand. Sorrow painted the adviser’s features and he heaved a shaky breath before shaking his head as if to clear it. Shiro looked away, back down at his feet in the water, and felt a bit guilty to be in this place.

“What was his name?” Shiro asked softly, “…your son.”

“Jorfen,” Coran answered softly, “You remind me of him some days.”

Shiro looked up at that and found Coran smiling at him sadly. Shiro saw the sorrow there but also pride and realized that pride was as much for him as it had been for the lost child. Coran sat the data pad down and then walked over. As Coran reached Shiro he sat down beside him and placed his own bare feet into the basin as well. Coran sighed as if gathering himself, eyes closed, and then nodded before speaking.

“Oh, stubborn as they come and fiercely loyal. Great tactician too, he was a senior officer before most even got out of basic training,” Coran said and smiled, “good lad.”

“Is…is that why you showed me this place?” Shiro asked softly.

Coran snorted softly before replying, “No, well perhaps a bit, but mainly I figured it might help with your sleeping issue.”

Shiro tensed for a moment then slowly relaxed as he saw the fond smile. Coran wasn’t passing judgement he was simply stating fact. Shiro did have a sleeping issue and he had refused all sedatives that Coran had offered. Coran of course hadn’t given up on trying to find a solution anyway.

“The low basin can be slept in, there are protections set into the draining system. You don’t have to worry about slipping under. The basin’s sensors keep track of you while you’re in it. I’ve set it to your height and build. If the sensors pick up on your head dropping below water level it will immediately begin draining the basin. Annoying to wake up to but no risk,” Coran stated then added, “if you want sensory deprivation, to sleep floating for example, simply put on one of the rebreathers and the basin’s settings will be activated once you’d actually put on the rebreather.”

Shiro looked impressed then laughed softly while running a hand across his face tiredly. _He wasn’t sure it would help really_ but it might be a start towards getting some rest if not some actual sleep. If nothing else he’d get a chance to soothe his sore muscles after a long day.

“That’s…kind of amazing actually,” he murmured, then frowned, “not sure I’d like the sensory deprivation part though…and I might hold off on actually letting myself fall asleep in the basins…at least at first but-”

“It should help you relax enough to rest,” Coran interrupted gently, then pointed to another section of the room with a low wall as he stood up and turned to leave, “fold out cots are in there. I have one set out already with swimming trunks, I believe I heard Lance refer to them as, set out as well.”

Shiro hadn’t moved from where he was sitting but he was eyeing the basin again tiredly with renewed interest. It _would_ be nice to have a decent soak in a hot-tub for a lack of a better term. But he gave Coran’s retreating figure a concerned look. He didn’t like using this space and knowing that Coran’s own son had once walked these halls before his death. Especially knowing it caused pain for Coran to bring up those memories.

Coran stopped before exiting the doors, turned, and added softly, “I’ve already told Allura where you are and that you’re not to be disturbed. Consider it a well-deserved day off from paladin duties. Ordered, and will be enforced. The other paladins I’ll worry about explaining to in the morning.”

“Keith and Pidge sleep outside my room a lot lately,” Shiro sighed, “If I’m not in there-”

Coran flapped a hand at him before cutting off, “I’ll send them a message to talk to me if they want to know where you are.”

“Thank you,” Shiro murmured but frowned.

“What’s wrong?” Coran prompted, tipping his head to look at Shiro curiously.

“Coran…I…your son…these rooms-” Shiro started, looking as torn as he felt.

“Jorfen would have wanted the new head of Voltron to have a private place to relax,” Coran said shortly, “It’s…why I thought of it in the first place. The needing a private area to relax that is. He was leader of Alfor’s guard after all and he understood as well as I did how stressful such a position as a leader was.”

“Leader of Alfor’s guard?” Shiro asked looking surprised, “he looked so young.”

Coran smiled sadly before answering with, “I said you reminded me of him didn’t I? You would have gotten along quite well I think. He may look a bit wild in that image but I feel like the two of you could have had quite the glaring contest. He took more after his mother in that regard.”

Shiro laughed softly then cautiously asked, “how did he…?”

Coran’s eyes grew cold and angry, “Zarkon. When Alfor tried to reason with Zarkon and the battle that followed Jorfen managed to hold off Zarkon long enough for the rest of the guard to bring Alfor’s body back…if it had not been for my son we never would have had the chance to store Alfor’s memories. Zarkon still bears the scar from Jorfen’s blade. Allura told me she saw it.”

Pride flickered in Coran’s gaze and he seemed to straighten up some at those words. Shiro looked at Coran sadly but with a fondness that seemed to make the adviser relax.

“His mother would have been proud,” Coran added, “she died not long after he was born so she was spared the betrayal by Zarkon.”

Shiro nodded, then glanced down to the settling waters sighing heavily.

 “Coran would it be okay for me to…consider you a father figure?” Shiro asked softly, “…Keith told you what happened to my own father and…if it’s not out of line I wouldn’t mind calling you dad.”

“I thought the young paladins had named you the resident father around here and me the uncle,” Coran teased, but looked touched by the question.

Shiro groaned looking both amused and annoyed causing Coran to smile. Shiro was smiling though and rubbing a hand across the back of his head when he looked up at Coran again.

“I’m too young to be a father,” Shiro chuckled, “but…honestly if that’s what they see me as I guess I can fill the role. I don’t mind. If they need that stability I’m fine providing it but I need someone on that role for me too. I’m a bit lost in all of this if I’m being honest. I could use some guidance and support as well…if you don’t mind.”

Coran smiled and hastily covered his face while clearing his throat. Shiro didn’t speak and gave the royal adviser a chance to collect himself. When Coran looked up Shiro was careful not to mention the wetness around Coran’s eyes.

“I don’t see why not,” Coran replied thickly, obviously trying for his usual cheerful tone, “It would be an honor. Now get some rest.”

With that he turned and promptly left the rooms the doors swinging closed behind him. Shiro smiled but eased himself down to lay out on the floor of the room with his feet still in the water. Coran found him snoring still sprawled out like that early the next morning and slid a pillow under Shiro’s head without waking him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I rewrote this about five times. I'm still not 100% pleased with it and it may gets some edits later on but I'm happy enough with it to post. I wanted to explore Coran a bit not as an adviser but as a parent and a concerned adult. Coran might be quirky but I feel like his back story is just as sad as Allura's is. Coran had to have lost family too.   
> _when does Coran actually sleep?!?_ The poor man never seems to sit still on the show.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll be attempting to Update Weekly; updates should be every Friday.


End file.
